The story so far
from the U.S. CensusBetween the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 37 to 29 (-22%). Half of its homes were built before 1986.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cleary yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Be one of the first
Start Cleary’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cleary’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Cleary, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Cleary is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Cleary has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Nielsen, Niels, Fourteen-Side Barn Farm in Coalfield, 16.6 miles away.
Cleary and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Cleary. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Nielsen, Niels, Fourteen-Side Barn Farm’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Cleary?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Cleary’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.